Assessments in the Music Room can be quite tricky. There are so many factors at play- the length or frequency of your time slot, the age of your students, the progress in the curriculum, the necessity of active engagement, not to mention just the large number of students. So you need to find an assessment system that works for YOU and your music room. What Assesment Works in Your Music Room? First of all, there are a few things to ponder, some mentioned above. While you are considering these questions, also ask yourself what mastery looks like to you. Decide how often you need to witness the skill or understanding of each student and keep that in the back of your mind. Planning for Assessment As the old saying goes, “failing to plan is planning to fail”. This especially rings true (haha, no pun intended) for music teachers. Speaking from personal experience, taking an hour to prep before my school day saves me MANY headaches throughout my contact time. Having the next steps planned are essential as some groups collaborate way better than others. This also helps for when you have substitutes coming in. These minute details will help you on your focus. Zoom out to the big picture for a moment. Grab a calendar or a planner, and begin to outline your contact time. See the example below. Step 1: Find and record days with zero contact time- admin days, substitute days, holidays, etc Step 2: Record how your timetable works. My schedule is Day A (Blue) & Day B (Pink) Step 3: Record special events-duty days, assemblies, guest speakers Step 4: Add up your days of contact time Day A Classes = 8 full days + 2 partial days Day B Classes = 6 full days, 1 sub day, and 2 partial days Given the amount of available contact time in my timetable, I need to consider my instruction, practice and assessment availability. As seen above, I will need to account for those assembly periods by pushing back my assessment times or minimizing the content I assess. Develop the Rules Now that you have your mind wrapped around how much contact time exists, how and when exactly are you going to assess? I’ll give you my secret: it’s called the TRAINGLE rule. I work in a small farm town. Despite all of MY absences and school events that I account for, a lot of my students are absent during farming season. It makes setting specific days near impossible to assess. So I developed this rule. Let’s use my B classes as an example as I only see them 6 days in September. That gives me time to present, demonstrate and practice. Day 1 is present and demonstrate. I introduce the new concept and have students participate with me. Day 2 is about recalling and beginning to experience the practice. This could also mean concept exploration for creating independence. Focus on reviewing the concept, and then create an environment where students can work and begin practicing in small groups. If you see that students can execute the skill properly with the help of their peers, draw the first line of a triangle beside their name. Day 3 is continuing practice. Incoporate a new activity that solidifies the understanding of the concept. This could be a new game or song that you introduce. If the students continue to demonstrate the skill properly, then draw the second line of the triangle. Day 4 can begin the individual assessments, if you haven’t already. If the students can demonstrate the skill “on demand” and comfortably, you may draw the final line of the triangle. Day 5 & 6 are used as extra practice days. If a student is absent on Day 3, they have the opportunity to demonstrate on one of the following days. Obviously this skill will be scaffolded into other curricula that you will be teaching. How to Make it Make Sense Anyone who looks at your grade book might think that you are doing algebra. In a sense, it’s kind of true. Your next step is to assign the triangle to grades. My school uses the 1-4 system, with 4 being the highest achievement of mastery. If a student has a full triangle beside their name, they recieve a 4. If they have 2/3 of the triangle, they recieve a 3, and 1/3 of the triangle recieves a 2. Now if all 6 days have past and the student was present but has no triangle, they recieve a 1. If the student was present for less than three days, I start the cycle over. Report cards often require annecdotal evidence as well. With your number or letter scale, have sentences that match. For example: Student ABC receives a 4 when using quarter note and eighth note rhythms: Student ABC CAN perform, notate and recognize quarter note and eighth note rhythms accurately in a group and individually using auxillary percussion and vocalization. Student DEF recieves a 3 when identifying intervals with reminders: Student DEF USUALLY can read, notate, and perform the interval sol-mi with accuracy. Student SOMETIMES has difficulty identifying the interval with written notation. Student GHI received a 2 when recognizing instrument families: Student GHI SOMETIMES can properly assign instruments to appropriate families independently. Student USUALLY has difficulty remembering the different criteria for each group and can complete activity with instructor support. Where to Keep Your Triangles In your grade book of course. Here is an assessment page set up for you and ready to go!
